A Massachusetts man has claimed he was sexually assaulted by his transgender Airbnb host during a trip to Madrid, Spain. Jacob Lopez, 19, reportedly began messaging his mother July 4 and asking her for help.
The Daily Mail reported that Lopez stated his host, who was born a male but lives as a female, had locked him in the apartment and was begging him to engage in a sexual act or face the consequences.
Lopez feared the host had a weapon and that he would not be able to leave, so ‘chose not to try to fight his way out’ and later told his mother he ‘was sexually assaulted that night’.
According to the report, the host claimed whatever happened was consensual and said Lopez is transphobic.
Nick Papas, an Airbnb spokesman, told Mail Online: ‘While the issue of sexual assault is a global challenge – and different laws in different countries impact what a web platform can do to help – there is nothing more important to us than the safety of our community.”
